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Hans
This article is about the character from Frozen. For the author, please see Hans Christian Andersen. For the character who appears in 'The Little Mermaid TV series, please see Hans Christian Andersen (character). Hans is the main antagonist in the 2013 Disney animated film Frozen. He is voiced by Santino Fontana. Background Hans is a prince from the Southern Isles, a neighboring kingdom of Arendelle. He is the youngest of thirteen royal siblings, and was neglected because of this. Knowing he would not live to rule the throne of the Southern Isles, Hans concocted a scheme to marry into monarchy. And when Arendelle is set to have a coronation, he jumps at the opportunity. However, since the to-be queen is far too collected to woo, he instead goes for her younger sister, Anna, planning to murder Queen Elsa after their marriage, thus becoming king (with Anna as his consort). Official Disney Bio :"Hans is a handsome royal from a neighboring kingdom who comes to Arendelle for Elsa's coronation. With 12 older brothers, Hans grew up feeling practically invisible—and Anna can relate. Hans is smart, observant and chivalrous. Unlike Elsa, Hans promises he'll never shut Anna out; he just might be the connection she's been waiting for all these years." Personality Cold, conniving, and cruel, Hans is a devilish prince with a hunger for power. Being the youngest sibling of thirteen princes, Hans spent a portion of his life being ignored and treated unfairly, something he reveals to Anna during their first night together. This abuse likely led to Hans' villainous transformation over time. Though he appears to be noble to the fullest extent, Hans is merely a master manipulator, caring nothing for anyone other than himself. Through his charm and charisma alone, he is able to fool both Anna, Elsa, as well as the entire kingdom of Arendelle and its visiting royals, providing excellent proof of his dangerous power over manipulation. Like many villains, Hans is completely power-hungry, willingly visiting Arendelle to murder Elsa and rule the kingdom via marrying Anna, revealing his only desire is to become king, ridding anyone necessary in any way he can for his quest for power, making him among Disney's most wicked villains. However, his manipulation and facade can be at times too perfect, which can be his greatest flaw for his overly-benevolent impersonation during his first meeting is a road to questioning of his motivation, as Elsa and Kristoff do not as easily fall like Anna does for his seemingly amiable personality the first time. He appears to be rather arrogant as well, chuckling and smirking to himself whilst revealing his dark plans to Anna, as she is freezing to death right before his eyes. It is clear Hans' goal to rule as king was likely to gain the love and admiration he never had, after being left in his brothers' shadows over the many years. He is also very abusive, though verbally more so than physically, as he constantly torments Anna and Elsa merely through his words after his dark side is revealed. Examples of this can be seen when he and Anna are in the parlor, and the prince constantly taunts the dying princess, as well as in the fjord during the confrontation with Elsa, as Hans decides to further Elsa's eternal suffering by telling her Anna has died, wanting to add that much harm to her before his attempt to kill her. Much like Scar in The Lion King, Hans' most powerful trait is quite possibly his vast intelligence. He's proven to be quick thinking, resourceful, and extremely diligent, being able to fool the entire kingdom without fail, even The Duke of Weselton, whom Hans holds a disliking to that only seemed to increase throughout the film. Role in the film Hans is first seen arriving in Arendelle on his horse, Sitron, accidentally running into Anna on the day of Queen Elsa's coronation. Using grace and charm, Hans immediately woos the lovesick princess. Their little flirtation is cut to a close when the bells for the queen's coronation are rung. Hans attends the ceremony, waving to Anna as he watches the crowning. Later on, Hans appears at the celebration party, inviting Anna for a romantic waltz. The dance eventually leads to an entire date, with the entire night of the young couple being spent bonding. By the end of their tour throughout the kingdom, Hans works up the courage to propose, with Anna agreeing in a heartbeat. The two head back to the royal throne room to ask for Queen Elsa's blessing, to which Elsa coldly refuses, denying Anna marrying someone she just met, ending the party and ordering Hans and everyone else to leave. Heartbroken, Anna confronts her sister, but this causes the queen's powers over ice and snow to be revealed. The Duke of Weselton, one of the neighboring royals, immediately declares Elsa a monster, and orders his men to capture her. Elsa flees, accidentally causing an eternal winter over Arendelle, having Anna and Hans chase after her until she is out of reach. Hans asks Anna if she had known of Elsa's mysterious abilities, to which the princess denies. In order to save the land, Anna volunteers to go after Elsa, leaving Hans in charge to rule during her absence. Sometime later, however, Hans and the royal guards hand out cloaks and catering to the freezing citizens of Arendelle, which angers the Duke. Scolding Hans, the Duke openly expresses his suspicion over Anna and Elsa, believing their conspiring together. Hans immediately snaps and threatens to punish the Duke for treason if he doesn't silence himself. Just then, Anna's horse returns without the royal rider, making Hans believes Anna is in danger. With the royal guards and the Duke's men, Hans leads a rescue mission for Anna and a hunt for Elsa. Unbeknownst to the kingdom, this gives Hans the perfect chance to kill Elsa for a seemingly heroic reason, bringing him one step closer to ruling the kingdom. The army arrives at Elsa's ice castle before long, and are immediately attacked by Elsa's giant snowman bodyguard, Marshmallow. Hans and his army battle the beast, though he proves to be nearly invincible. Fortunately for the prince, he is able to get a clear shot and slices Marshmallow's leg clean off, having the creature stumble off a cliff to his apparent death. With him out of the way, Hans and the others rush inside to find Anna, but she is nowhere in sight. Instead, they find Elsa merely seconds away from killing the Duke's two guards. Hans is able to stop her, freeing the two thugs. However, one of the thugs attempts to strike her with their arrow, but Hans interferes and purposely causes the arrow to shoot upward to Elsa's massive chandelier, hoping the impact would kill her while making it seem like an accident. The chandelier comes crashing down, but it only manages to knock Elsa unconscious. Captured, Elsa is imprisoned in Arendelle's dungeon. With the winter curse getting out of hand, Hans knows he must find a way to save his kingdom, and decides to pay Elsa a visit, asking her to put an end to the winter. However, Elsa confesses she does not know how and asks to be released. Hans claims he will do what he can and returns to the Duke of Weselton and the other dignitaries in the parlor who are in the process of finding a solution to freedom. He decides he must go back out to find Anna, still needing her marriage in order to steal the throne, but one of the dignitaries explains that he needs to stay put, as he is all Arendelle has left. With this in mind, Hans learns it will be unnecessary to return into the blizzard, as the kingdom is practically his, as long as Anna never returns. Just then, Anna suddenly returns and desperately begs Hans for a kiss. The two are given privacy, and Anna explains that during her journey, Elsa froze her heart, and only an act of true love can save her from freezing to death. Hans smirks and rejects Anna, immediately pulling away from their failed kiss and closing the shades of the room, as well as putting out the fire in attempt to quicken her death. Confused, Anna tries to understand what's going on, but Hans simply explains his entire plot to marry Anna, kill Elsa, and become king of Arendelle through marriage. Anna tries to stop him, but she is far too weak. The evil prince then leaves her to die, locking the door and trapping her within to prevent others from finding her. Hans then returns to the Duke and the other dignitaries, appearing to be terribly distraught as he does. He tells them Anna was killed by Elsa, and that their vows were said just before she died in his arms, thus making him king of Arendelle. Unfortunately, the story is fully believed, and Hans sentences the Snow Queen to death for high treason. Meanwhile, through her magic, Elsa manages to escape her prison and tries to retreat to her ice palace. Hans follows her into the frozen fjord to finish her off, knowing that with Elsa dead, her winter will be over, and summer will be restored and he will be be praised a hero along with his newfound rule over Arendelle. Elsa pleads for mercy, still believing Hans to be a benevolent prince. She asks the dark prince to take care of her sister for him, to which Hans responds by telling the Snow Queen that Anna was killed due to her icy curse piercing her heart. Elsa breaks down in tears, and whilst she's distracted by her own sorrow, Hans pulls out his sword and prepares to murder Elsa via decapitation. Before he is able to murder her, Anna arrives and blocks her sister from the sword, completely freezing to death just before Hans' sword strikes her and shatters. The forceful blast caused by Anna's freezing knocks out the evil prince, rendering him unconscious. When he awakens, he finds Arendelle thawed and peace restored. Anna immediately confronts him and punches him off the ship they are aboard out of pure fury. Hans is then imprisoned on a ship heading back to the Southern Isles and banished from Arendelle forever. According to a dignitary, Hans is set to receive a punishment from his older brothers. Gallery Trivia *It is quite possible that Hans was named after Hans Christian Andersen, the writer of the fairy tales The Snow Queen (on which Frozen is loosely based), and The Little Mermaid (his most famous book, of which Disney has done a film adaptation). This can be considered ironic, as Hans is the main antagonist of the film. *The name Hans is used in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, the same places that The Southern Isles might be located. *Hans' voice actor, Santino Fontana, originally auditioned for the role of Kristoff, but was eventually given Hans instead once the film changed. *Hans is the third Disney Princess villain that wasn't killed, the first two being Lady Tremaine and Governor Ratcliffe. *All of Hans' voice recordings were completed in a matter of five days. *Hans is essentially the complete opposite of many of the heroic characters in Frozen: **Anna, for while both were shut out for many years, she actually wants to reconnect with her sister and would do anything to reconnect with her. Hans, on the other hand, only wanted to get more attention than his 12 brothers and as such would do anything to be on top, even if it means murder and forced marriage. **Elsa, for while she shuts Anna out, she does that to protect her. Hans, on the other hand, while he would never shut Anna out, he only does that so that he would get to the throne. ***On another thought, it is interesting to note that both Hans and Elsa wear gloves the majority of the movie. Both use them to "conceal" their true selves - Elsa wears hers at the beginning to hide her powers, and Hans wears thorughout the whole movie up until his big reveal at the fireplace. ***It's also interesting to note that both Hans and Elsa are associated with 13, which is considered an unlucky number, but with a different twist - Elsa, despite being the 13th Princess, remains good and caring; whereas Hans, being the 13th child in his family, turns out to be selfish and cruel. **Kristoff, for while very gruff and tough on the outside, he's actually kind-hearted and selfless on the inside. Hans, on the other hand, while being kind and friendly on the outside, but is actually cruel and ruthless on the inside. **Olaf, for while he represents the love between Elsa and Anna, Hans represents the breaking of Elsa and Anna's bond. *Hans is rather a unique Disney villain in many ways. Usually, when a villain is introduced into a film, the audience gets the idea that this character is not to be trusted, but some protagonists trust them, however (i.e. Simba, because Scar is his uncle). But with Hans, not only is Anna fooled by him, but the audience as well. This makes Hans one of the sneakiest and most sinister Disney villains. *Hans' duet with Anna, "Love is an Open Door", actually holds a few dark meanings on Hans' side of the song. The lines "I've been searching my whole life to find my own place" and "Love is an open door" secretly representing Hans' quest to dominate a kingdom, and doing so through false romance with Anna, who is his door to power. *Hans bears a slight resemblance to Flynn Rider from Tangled. *However, he also resembles the Stabbington Brothers as with Cedric the Sorcerer, giving away his villainous nature. *Hans says a similar thing as Rapunzel when he calms a horse. Rapunzel says "Easy, easy boy" to Maximus when she calms him. Hans says the same thing when Anna's horse returns without Anna. *There is a hint to Hans' villainy during the film, most notably during Elsa's capture. If one looks closely, it can be seen that Hans re-aims the crossbow to fire at the chandelier and shoots it himself, not merely intervening to stop it. *According to Jennifer Lee, Hans is around 23 years old. *In a cut draft of the film, after Hans' sword was destroyed by Anna's frozen body, the prince was still going to attack the sisters in a lasting attempt to kill them, only to be stopped by Kristoff. *Hans appears to be the ultimate subversion of the heroic prince, he poses as being benevolent, but is really evil. Hans himself also notes of this during his betrayal, and uses it to his advantage. *While Kristoff is aware of Hans and even wants to confront him for his heinous deeds, Hans does not truly communicate with him. *Hans is one of the few villains who does not fight with a Disney Prince, since he does not have a climatic hero-versus-villain fight with Kristoff. *Hans is one of the few villains who does not have a sidekick. *Hans is the third Disney evil prince: Prince John from Robin Hood the first Mor'du from Brave the second. And the second Disney computer animated evil prince since Mor'du from Brave. Similarities to other Disney villains *Hans bears many similarities with Gaston from Beauty and the Beast: both are handsome but are revealed to be quite cruel and manipulative, both aren't initially shown to be evil, and both tried to kill a person important to the Disney Princess whom they considered a monster (the Beast and Elsa). Another similarity is that they both make themselves appear as a hero to others and use this to manipulate people into following them. Hans and Gaston are also the youngest Disney Villains to date, presumably being in their early to mid-twenties at the oldest. **Anna's first impressions of Hans were also similar to those of the Bimbettes towards Gaston, but her last impression (in which she calls him coldhearted) is very similar to that of when Belle called Gaston a monster. *Hans is similar Claude Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame as both organize a force to pursue a female character (Frollo pursues Esmeralda, and Hans pursues Anna). However, the intentions of both villains are different. (Hans lusts for power, while Frollo lusts for sex and companionship). Both villains use swords as their main weapons, and both use swords in an attempt to slay a major character. Frollo attempts to slay Esmeralda and Quasimodo, and Hans attempts to slay Elsa. Interestingly, both Hans and Frollo smile in anticipation prior to the attempted slayings. *Hans shares a few similarities to Scar from The Lion King. Both villains desire power and wish to be king via murder, manipulate those around them and those who love them, are envious of their brother(s), and selfishly wished to be praised as a wonder of a king. He also shares this similarity to Nizam in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Unlike Scar or Nizam, though, Hans does not kill or attempt to kill his brother(s). *Hans shares a similarity with Jafar from Aladdin: both want to marry a girl (Jafar wants to marry Jasmine and Hans wants to marry Anna), but both want to do so solely so they can rule their kingdoms, and not because they dearly love their chosen consorts. They also lie and tell the deuteragonist that the main protagonist is dead. *Hans also bears many similarities with several Pixar villains: Stinky Pete from Toy Story 2, Mr. Waternoose from Monsters, Inc., Charles Muntz from Up, and Lotso from Toy Story 3, in which they are friendly in their outside appearances but are actually evil and manipulative in their true nature, which surprises not only the main protagonist but the audience as well. Also, their villainous natures are not shown in their respective toy merchandise but are spoiled in the book prior to the film's release (although Lotso's villainy is hinted at in one of the LEGO sets for the film, also made prior to the film's release). *Hans is also similar to Lyle Tiberius Rourke from Atlantis: The Lost Empire as they have antagonized a young queen with light blonde hair (Rourke to Kida, Hans to Elsa). In addition, Rourke is also given enough traits of trustworthiness for not only the protagonists, but also to the audience. *Hans is also similar to King Candy from Wreck-It Ralph. Both start off as friendly but turn out to be evil, both try and almost kill the film's deuteragonist, Vanellope for King Candy and Elsa for Hans. This is actually very coincidental since Alan Tudyk, King Candy's voice actor, voices the Duke, another antagonist in the film. *Hans is also similar to John Clayton from Tarzan. They are not revealed to be evil at first but as the film progresses their true evil motives are revealed. They also shut the main protagonist to prevent them from stopping his evil plans.(Clayton locks Tarzan in the ship while Hans locks Anna in the castle). Also, both of their films are directed by Chris Buck. 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